月: 2023年12月

1. Japan’s new top government spokesperson Hayashi Yoshimasa has vowed to restore public trust in politics under the guidance of Prime Minister Kishida Fumio.
2. Japan’s new Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi Yoshimasa has vowed utmost efforts to realize the early return of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea. Hayashi, who assumed the post on Thursday, also took on the role of the minister to deal with the abductions issue. 3. Transport authorities in Beijing says a subway accident in the Chinese capital has left more than 100 people with bone fractures. Chinese media say the accident took place on Thursday evening when the last two carriages detached from the train while running above ground on the Changping line.

1. Japan’s Prime Minister Kishida Fumio is dealing with the fallout from a political money scandal. It involves a party faction once led by one of Kishida’s predecessors, the late Abe Shinzo. Kishida is trying to find a way ahead, and as part of that, he has replaced four members of his cabinet. The new ministers went to the Imperial Palace Thursday evening to be endorsed ceremonially by Emperor Naruhito. They have officially taken office. 2. Russian President Vladimir Putin has begun a year-end news conference with domestic and international journalists that features a call-in show with ordinary Russian people. The event began in a venue near the Kremlin in the capital Moscow at around noon on Thursday. On the conflict in Ukraine, Putin said there will be peace when Russia achieves its goals. He said those goals are the “denazification” and “demilitarization” of Ukraine. 3. An alliance of the ethnic militant groups in Myanmar says it will continue fighting to the end to defeat the junta, while the military says it held talks with the rebels amid intensifying battles. The Three Brotherhood Alliance said in a social media post on Wednesday it remains committed to ending what it calls a “dictatorship.” It added if needs more time and ongoing efforts to complete this goal, but its dedication remains strong with the entire Myanmar people.

1. Japan’s largest opposition party has submitted a no-confidence motion against the Cabinet of Prime Minister Kishida Fumio. The motion in the Lower House is in response to the political funding scandal involving a faction of the main ruling Liberal Democratic Party. The investigation by prosecutors has found that dozens of members of the largest faction of the ruling party, the Abe faction, received kickbacks. That includes six senior members. 2. The policy chief of Japan’s main governing Liberal Democratic Party has decided to step down in response to a growing money scandal involving the LDP’s largest faction. Hagiuda Koichi is expected to soon submit his resignation as the chairperson of the LDP’s Policy Research Council to Prime Minister Kishida Fumio.
3. The US Department of Defense announced on Tuesday additional military aid of up to 200 million dollars for Ukraine. The fresh aid reflects the US’ apparent intent to strengthen Ukraine’s air defense amid continued Russian missile attacks, which appear to be targeting Ukrainian energy facilities, a critical concern as winter sets in.

1. The Lower House of Japan’s Diet has voted down a motion of non-confidence in Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno Hirokazu over a political fund scandal.
2. A Japanese district court has found three male former Ground Self-Defense Force members guilty on charges of indecent assault of a female subordinate. The Fukushima District Court handed down two-year prison sentences suspended for four years to Shibuya Shutaro, Sekine Akito and Kimezawa Yusuke on Tuesday.
3. In Major League Baseball, the Los Angeles Dodgers officially announced on Monday that they have signed a 10-year-contract with Japanese two-way superstar Ohtani Shohei. The announcement quoted Ohtani thanking his new team’s fans for welcoming him.

1. Pro- Beijing candidates have swept almost all the seats in Hong Kong’s district council elections. The turnout in Sunday’s polls was a record low of 27.5 percent as pro-democracy parties were unable to field any candidates after a change in the election system. The turnout plummeted from the record high of 71.2 percent in the last elections in 2019 and was the lowest since Hong Kong was returned from Britain to China in 1997. 2. The White House says US President Joe Biden will meet with Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington on Tuesday. The White House said on Sunday that Biden invited Zelenskyy for talks to underscore the United States’ “unshakeable commitment to supporting the people of Ukraine as they defend themselves against Russia’s brutal invasion.” 3. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stressed the legitimacy of the country’s military operation in the Gaza Strip, saying “justice is on our side.” The Israeli military announced on Sunday that it had struck more than 3,500 targets in Gaza since December 1 when it resumed operations after a pause.

1. Japan reported a current account surplus for the ninth straight month in October, mainly due to a decline in energy prices. The current account is a measure of Japan’s trade and investment with the rest of the world.
2. Sources say Japan’s chief cabinet secretary’s office may have received more than 10 million yen, or 69,000 dollars, in kickbacks from selling tickets for political fundraising parties. Matsuno Hirokazu’s office allegedly failed to report the income over the five years to 2022 in its political funds report.
3. US President Joe Biden has stressed the necessity to protect civilians in the Gaza Strip during talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Biden expressed his deep concern for the hostages that remain in Gaza. The two leaders agreed to stay engaged to free the remaining hostages.

1. The US military has grounded all types of Osprey tilt-rotor transport aircraft deployed around the world following a fatal crash last week off Japan.
2. Japan’s Prime Minister Kishida Fumio is calling decisive action to deal with a deepening money sandal in the main ruling party and he is setting the tone by quitting his own faction. 3. NHK has learned a lawmaker of the main ruling Liberal Democratic party has likely received about 50 million yen, or about 350,000 dollars, in kickbacks with regard to selling tickets for fund-raising parties.

1. Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has instructed factions of the main governing Liberal Democratic Party to refrain from holding fundraising events until the party takes steps to regain the public’s trust. Five factions of the LDP allegedly underreported the revenues from sales of tickets for fundraising events.
2. A spokesperson for the Israeli military has stressed that a certain level of civilian deaths in the Gaza Strip cannot be helped. In an interview with CNN, the spokesperson was asked to confirm a report that senior Israeli military officials have said around two civilians have been killed for every Hamas fighter killed by Israel in Gaza.
3. China has showed a positive stance toward recognizing the Taliban’s interim government as the legitimate ruler of Afghanistan. The Taliban established control following the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan in the summer of 2021.

1. The United States responded with caution after France urged the United Nations Security Council to adopt a resolution calling for a truce between Israel and Hamas. French UN Ambassador Nicolas de Riviere told reporters before an emergency session that the Security Council should adopt a resolution calling for a longer-term truce.
2. A senior White House official has warned that US aid for Ukraine will run out by the end of the year unless Congress approves additional funding. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said, “Congress has to decide whether to continue to support the fight for freedom in Ukraine as part of the 50-nation coalition that President Biden has built, or whether Congress will ignore the lessons we’ve learned from history and let Putin prevail.” 3. Japan’s Justice Ministry has started a trial of using artificial intelligence to translate Japanese laws into English. The ministry last Friday began the experimental introduction of AI aimed at reducing the time required for translation.

1. Japan’s Prime Minister Kishida Fumio said he has no knowledge of having met with the Japanese branch head of a group associated with a religious organization widely known as the Unification Church four years ago. The Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun reported on Monday that the branch head of the group was present at a meeting between Kishida and former US House Speaker Newt Gingrich in Japan in October 2019. 2.Divers searching for the US Osprey aircraft that crashed into the sea in southwestern Japan last week have reportedly located what appear to be part of the plane and multiple people. Sources say the number of people the divers found on Monday morning appears to be five. The tilt-rotor transport aircraft of the US Air Force crashed off Yakushima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture last Wednesday. 3. An international environmental NGO has given Japan a satirical “Fossil of the Day” award at the venue of the COP28 climate change conference in Dubai. The Climate Action Network presents the awards every day during the UN conference to countries it says are “doing the most to achieve the least” to curb global warming.